Big Cats and Even Bigger Problems
by padme's sister
Summary: The gang have a new member, but Jack's attempt to impress her goes horribly wrong, leaving Mia and Rose, who are not quite themselves, to fight for their lives, quite literally, on a planet that regards fights to the death as sport. 10th Doctor.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note: Ok I have no idea where this story came from, other than the fact that I just sat down at my computer one day and typed the first things that came into my head, then strung them together in some sort of story...hmmm...I blame these films...**

**- Two Brothers**

**- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone**

**- Gladiator**

**For putting these random ideas into my head. OkI should tell you a bit about the story, but I think I summarised it pretty well in this beginning chapter...well at least I hope I did. I didn't, however, do the Disclaimer, so I shall do that now...**

**Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Doctor Who, or the three films stated above...the only things I own are the characters Mia, Tobias and the wording for this story...along with a few of the ideas...and yeah, you get the point. So now, on with the story.**

**Enjoy!**

oOo

"Jack, are you sure this is a very good idea?" Rose asked anxiously as she followed him out of the TARDIS into a jungle clearing. The Doctor and their newest companion Mia weren't far behind and it looked as if they were both sharing Rose's concern.

It had been Jack's idea to come here, because - as he'd constantly assured them - it had beautiful scenery and very friendly locals.

The scenery was beautiful enough, with lush jungle vegetation and a sparkling waterfall leading into a calm river that ran right beside them, but something wasn't right. Only Jack seemed not to be able to sense it as he set off into the thick of the jungle, claiming he knew the way.

"Is he always this infuriating?" Mia asked as she was scratched by yet another thorn.

"Pretty much," Rose replied, remembering Jack and Mia's first meeting.

oOo

The Doctor had just saved her from some huge threat, although neither would say what, and she'd followed him back to the TARDIS, where Jack and Rose had been waiting.

The minute Jack had spotted the eighteen year old, with her long brown hair and deep brown eyes, he'd hit on her. At first she didn't mind, and even played along, flirting back, but it soon became obvious to her that she wasn't the first object of Jack's affection, and she certainly wouldn't be the last, so she'd given him a rather nasty backhander (resulting in a nose bleed) when he'd tried to kiss her, and from then on, the two hadn't always seen eye to eye.

Mia had been traveling with them now for well over a month, and she and Rose had become firm friends, because both were glad of another female to share secrets with that they couldn't (or didn't want) to share with the boys.

Mia was also a brilliant prankster and could easily match Rose and Jack's best efforts to prank each other when they had nothing to do during their time in the time vortex.

Of course, once Rose had got Mia on her side, however, the two had pranked the poor Captain non stop for days.

The Doctor didn't mind. He liked Mia's company almost as much as he liked Rose's, although there was a reason why he liked Rose more, which Mia was well aware of.

She didn't mind, and actually encouraged him sometimes, which he could be grateful for at times, but at others he wished he'd never told her. She was the only one who knew, because he trusted her more than he trusted Jack, and he'd never have the guts to tell Rose.

oOo

"See I told you!" Jack cried triumphantly as they emerged onto a dusty road and Mia groaned.

"What are we supposed to do now, _Captain? _Drive our imaginary cars?"

Rose disguised her giggle as a cough, which still earned her a glare from Jack, but she pretended not to notice.

"Which way?" Mia turned to the Doctor, who just shrugged.

"Jack knows this place better than I do. Ask him."

"Shhh, don't make his head any bigger. It won't fit through the TARDIS door."

Rose couldn't help it and burst out laughing this time. Even the Doctor chuckled as Jack spun threateningly towards Mia and raised a finger, his mouth opening and closing but no words coming out.

"Oooh, how threatening," Mia said in mock surprise, raising her hands above her head. "What you gonna do, point me to death?"

Rose was close to collapsing because she was laughing so hard now, but the Doctor had stopped smiling and was listening to something. A deep rumble from somewhere in the distance, and it was coming towards them.

"Into the trees!" he said suddenly and they all stopped teasing each other and looked at him worriedly. They could hear the noise aswell now and none of them hung around to find out what it was.

They ran as fast as they could, back into the cover of the trees and watched as a huge black truck pulled up close to where they had been standing moments before. It looked like some kind of prison van, and armed guards were now jumping down and darting in all directions.

Two of them headed towards the four hidden in the trees, and all four shrunk back as far as they dared without making a sound.

Jack and the Doctor looked at each other and shook their heads. They could easily take on the guards, but not before they'd raised the alarm and alerted the whole army.

They just had to hope that they weren't found

oOo

As it happened, luck wasn't really on their side, because just as the two guards were about to turn away, a creepy little lizard thing bit Mia's finger and she yelped in pain, then clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide in shock.

Then, as they'd all stayed perfectly still, hoping the guards wouldn't spot them, Jack was bitten by one aswell and jumped three feet in the air.

"There they are!" one of the guards shouted as Mia and Rose darted out of the bushes one way, and the Doctor and Jack ran the other.

The entire army of guards came after them, splitting up to chase the two groups, Rose and Mia's youth carrying them easily away from their pursuers, while the Doctor and Jack had to rely on cunning and using the trees as cover.

Somehow the four of them almost managed to meet up again at the edge of a cliff with no where to run. Only a small stretch of trees seperated them, but they could still see and hear each other.

"What now?" Rose cried as they were surrounded.

"I'm thinking!"

"Well would you mind thinking a little faster," Mia yelled as she ducked a laser blast from a nearby guard and kicked out at him. Her foot connected with his chin, throwing his head back and knocking his helmet off to reveal a young Japanese lad, no more than seventeen at the most.

"He's doing his best!" Jack snapped back as he sent another guard sprawling backwards.

"Shut up!" Mia shouted angrily as she grabbed another nearby guard round the neck and used him as a shield. Rose darted behind her and for the moment they were safe.

The Doctor and Jack had finally gone for a more peaceful approach to their captors, in the fact, they'd put up their hands and surrendered.

After all, the Doctor had always reckoned that getting captured was the easiest way to get taken to the big boss man.

Mia and Rose didn't quite share his idea though and continued to put up a fight until at last two guards managed to get a clear shot and sent two laser bolts whizzing through the air, catching the two girls in the chest.

Both dropped to the floor, unconscious and the Doctor and Jack tried to get to them, only to be herded back into the huge black truck, leaving their helpless companions laying in the dust.

The Doctor knew they weren't dead, but he didn't want to just leave them lying helplessly out in the open like that. Who knew what kind of wildlife they had on this planet, and those creepy little lizards didn't exactly look vegetarian.

"It's all your fault!" he snapped at Jack as the truck began to pull away, back along the dusty track, and for once, Jack couldn't argue.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note: Wow, thanks so much for such a sweet review xXxMisshauntedxXx. I know what you mean about some stories, and I hope this story doesn't go the same way as they have. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Its a bit weird, but again I hope I've included enough to keep it enjoyable and yet not OTT or not understandable. Don't worry. Everything will be explained in later chapters, but that's besides the point.**

**Enjoy!**

oOo

"Mia? Mia are you alright?" Rose's voice came from somewhere and Mia dared to open her eyes to look. Pain shot through her body, but she did her best to ignore it and raised her head to look around.

"Rose? Where are you?" she called.

"Over here," Rose replied, and it was only then that Mia noticed the change in her voice. It was still distinctly recognizable as Rose's, but it was deeper, and more...course.

"What's up with your voice?" she asked, and then she realised that her's sounded the same. It sounded like she was growling, or she had a really bad cough which was making her voice sound hoarse.

"I don't know. Mia, I can't see you," Rose groaned, and then she yelped. Mia sensed she was in shock or pain, so she scrambled back to her feet and then shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment to try and stop the dizzyness. Something didn't feel right.

Infact, she felt very, very wrong.

Looking up, she saw that she was face to face with a tiger. If she hadn't been so frightened, she would have found the tiger beautiful. This must have been what had scared Rose.

"Rose, don't panic," she said, trying to back away, but she came up against the edge of the cliff and one of her feet slipped. She grabbed onto the soft earth and looked down. Her heart skipped several beats as she looked at what used to be her hands. Where her hands should have been, there were now two brown, furry paws, and huge black claws instead of nails. Black stripes and white markings wove up her legs, and when she lifted one paw up to examine it, she saw huge black pads, like that of a tiger.

"Oh my god!" she cried when she realised what had happened, then she looked up at the other tiger, who looked just as alarmed. It had the same deep brown eyes as Rose, and a few blonde streaks of fur dotted about it's face.

"This isn't happening," Mia muttered as she walked back away from the edge, on all fours.

"Mia, is that you?" the other tiger said in Rose's voice.

"Yes. Rose, don't panic, but I think we've been transformed into tigers."

"How?"

"I don't know. But I bet it has something to do with those lasers." Mia replied. She was anxiously inspecting her new body, with her huge, powerful paws, strong legs, rippling muscles and flexible spine. She was even flicking her tail back and forth, still unable to believe it.

Rose was examining herself aswell, but rather than seem anxious, she was actually rather excited, after recovering from the shock of course.

"Oh, this is so cool!" she exclaimed after she had tested out her razor sharp claws on a nearby tree, like a cat using a scratching post.

Mia had to admit, being a tiger was kind of cool. It certainly gave them a major advantage.

"Come on, lets go and save the guys," Mia said after a moment, and she saw Rose's mouth stretch upwards, baring a few teeth slightly, in a smile.

Mia froze for a moment. That had to be the weirdest thing she'd ever seen.

But then they were off, trotting along together on all fours, surprisingly agile, despite the drastic changes.

oOo

The Doctor and Jack sat in the back of the prison wagon in silence. Neither had got over the shock of seeing both Rose and Mia falling to the ground after being shot.

"They'll be alright," Jack said finally, after what seemed like a lifetime of silence.

"You think?" the Doctor asked sadly. He'd seen Rose fall. Heard her groan as the laser blast hit her chest. Watched her lifeless body as he'd been hearded into the back of the wagon. He'd watched her until she'd become nothing more than a speck on the horizon.

Jack had done the same with Mia. He'd known her for a shorter time than the Doctor had known Rose, but he still felt the same. She may seem just as tough and strong as the others and she may pick on him mercilessly, but deep down she was still just a kid.

"Rose and Mia are fighters. They'll be back to rescue us soon. You'll see," Jack replied at last. But he was trying to reassure himself more than the Doctor. For once, it looked like they were on their own, and there was nothing they could do about it.

oOo

"Look," Rose said, pointing out tire tracks with her paw. Then she giggled and Mia looked at her curiously.

"Sorry," Rose appologised. "I still haven't quite got used to these." She waved her paw about. Mia chuckled and the two set off again, following the tracks. They followed them until they came to a fork in the road and the tracks split off in opposite directions.

"Typical," Mia muttered as she bent low and began to sniff the tracks, trying to capture the scent. Then she began giggling aswell. "This is so weird," she muttered.

"Let's split?" Rose suggested, and seeing as Mia couldn't come up with a better alternative, she agreed.

"Alright. You take the left, I'll take the right. If you find them, wait for me. If you don't, turn back and come my way. I'll wait for you."

"Right. See you then," Rose replied, and she nuzzled Mia in a friendly farewell. Mia nuzzled her back and then the two set off down their paths, Mia dissapearing into a thick jungle, Rose running across a grassy plain, each following a set of tracks.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note: Once again thanks for the great review...as for the doctor and Jack's reactions...well you'll have to wait and see. But for now, Rose and Mia have gone in search of the guys. What they're looking for and what they find are two very different places indeed!**

**Enjoy!**

Mia had to admit, she did like this new look. It was certainly proving to be more useful than her human body. She could jump higher, run faster and longer, hide better in the bushes, and those creepy lizards didn't dare come near her now.

She followed the road for some time until at last the tracks stopped. She looked around, expecting to see the truck somewhere near, but there was nothing.

She sat and pondered for a moment about what to do next. Then she glanced around. Something wasn't right. She could sense it.

She decided to turn back and find Rose and check that she was alright. After all, this obviously hadn't been the right way. Perhaps Rose had had better luck. And that uneasy feeling inside Mia was growing. She tensed, and prepared to bolt at the slightest sign of any trouble.

As she turned, she heard a twig snap and immediately crouched low, teeth and claws bared, ears flicking rapidly back and forth, trying to pick up any more sounds. She was about to make a run for it when there was a loud shout, a flare shot up from somewhere and ten huge men ran from the bushes, carrying guns and a heavy cargo net, which they threw over her. No matter how hard she struggled, the men were too strong for her and eventually managed to wrestle her into an iron cage.

"She's a pretty one," one of the men said as he crouched down to examine Mia, who had started pacing up and down the cage angrily, looking for a way out.

"Let me out!" she growled, but he didn't seem to be able to understand her. Then he reached in a hand and began to stroke her soft fur, muttering gently to her, in what was an obvious attempt to calm her down.

Mia did feel herself begin to relax a little as he carried on, stroking her behind the ears.

_If I was a pet cat, I bet I'd be purring right now, _she thought in amusement.

"She's a real pretty one," another said as he also crouched down by the cage.

Mia had stopped pacing by now, knowing there was no way of escape. She flopped down and let out a long sigh, which caused the men to smile.

"Shame he wants her for fighting. I don't reckon she's that old. Tobias'll kill her before she even has a chance to defend herself," the first man sighed, as he reached out again to stroke her. But Mia had tensed, and immediately shyed away from his touch.

_Killed? Fighting? No way! Not if I can help it!_

Mia lunged forwards and grabbed the first guy by the arm. Having razor sharp teeth definately proved an advantage, because he pulled back in agony, blood dribbling down his sleeve.

"Let me out!" she cried again. "You have to let me out!"

"Watch it, she's dangerous!" another voice shouted and Mia felt something sting her shoulder. She turned to see a red dart sticking out of her fur coat and immediately felt drowzy.

"Don't hurt her!" the first guy yelled, even though he was still dribbling blood everywhere.

Mia's last thought before she fell to the floor unconscious was that she hoped Rose had had better luck.

oOo

As it happened, Rose had found the Palace where the Doctor and Jack had been taken, but before she'd had the chance to find a hiding place, men had jumped her aswell and subjected her to the same treatment as Mia. She'd been forced into another cage and carried up to the Palace, where she was released into a small cage down underground. She hadn't put up a fight because she'd been in situations like this enough times to know that fighting got you no-where.No-one else was in sight down in her dungeon and she sighed, flopping down in the dusty sand that lined the bottom of her cage. Some dust flew up her nose and she sneezed, sending more spraying into her face. She jumped to her feet and used her paws to try and wipe her eyes.

It was only then that she noticed she had a small cut on her right paw and looked around, spotting a bowl of water, which she dipped her paw in. Then she shook it off and paced the cage, looking for a way out. When she saw that there was none, she threw herself down in the sand again and wondered what Mia was doing.

oOo

The Doctor heard the growl of a very angry animal in the next cell to his, and as his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw a very angry tiger prowling about, launching itself at the bars every now and then, and growling in frustration.

He looked to the corner of his own cell, where Jack was sleeping soundly, blissfully unaware of their next door neighbour.

The Doctor watched the tiger for ages. It moved with such grace and perfection that it was almost magical.

"Poor thing," he muttered as the tiger crashed into the bars again, then yelped and staggered away, back to its dark corner, where it flopped and snorted in disgust.

"I know how you feel mate," the Doctor sighed, banging an angry fist against his own bars. Jack sat bolt upright and looked around wildly.

"What happened?" he asked anxiously, crawling back nearer the Doctor.

"We got a new neighbour," the Doctor replied, nodding in the tiger's direction. It had resumed its angry prowl around the cage again, it's fangs gleaming white in the moonlight that was filtering through the iron bars above their head.

"What type is it?" Jack asked in fascination as he watched the muscles ripple under it's glossy coat. It had very definitive black stripes and a pure white stomach.

The Doctor sat up a little to get a better look.

"Male Bengal by the looks of things," he said, and then, as an after thought, he added "A very angry one too."

"Tobias," Jack said.

"What?"

"His name's Tobias," Jack repeated, pointing to a name plate over the cage.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Note: Thanks so much to xXx Misshaunted xXx for yet another really sweet review. I know this story's odd, but so are alot of things on here...and so am I really! So anyways, I hope you enjoy it, and remember the review button is there for a reason! Even if you don't like the story, tell me what you think! Please!**

**Oh and I know I said this story was a humorous one...well I know its not at the moment, but hopefully the ending should be...and I can't remember what rating I put this on, so I'm changing it to T for slight bad language and lots of blood...oh and death to...sorry!**

**Enjoy!**

When Mia woke in the morning, she was in a cage deep underground. Only a thin sheet of sand covered the bottom and in a corner sat a plate of raw meat and a bowl of water.

Mia was hungry, but the thought of eating raw meat disgusted her, so she left the plate well alone, took a few sips (or rather licks) from the water bowl, then began studying her surroundings.

Sunlight filtered through iron bars up the top of a ramp at one end ofthe cage. Mia launched herself up the ramp, then dug her claws into the sandstone for as long as possible while she peered out through the bars.

She couldn't see much, just more sand and a large stone wall. It wasn't too high to climb over, if she could just get passed the bars. She heard a cheer from somewhere and then the bars shot back, startling her. She lost her grip and slid back down to the bottom of her cage again.

Seeing that the bars were open, she paused for a moment incase it was a trap, then leapt out through the opening, ready to make her bid for freedom.

What she hadn't known, however, was that the ramp had led into an arena, and there was no way out of that either. The walls weren't particularly high, but the cage and bars infront of them were.

_Damn it! _She thought angrily as she turned to go back down into the cage. But the bars had closed again. _Oh this isn't good, _Mia realised as she saw the stands round the arena begin to fill up. She had to get out of here - now.

Taking a huge run up, she leapt at the wire fencing, trying to claw her way over the top. She'd almost made it, but then guards on the other side were jabbing her with sticks, forcing her to lose her grip and drop back into the sand again.

"Get off!" she growled in protest, knowing by now that the people couldn't understand her. But it made her angry that she was being treated like this. Being made to fight for someone else's pleasure wasn't her idea of a good day out, no matter how much Jack had promised her this trip would be.

A grating sound from over the other side of the arena told Mia that another set of bars had opened. Perhaps she could escape that way. But as she neared the opening, another tiger leapt out, snarling and growling.

"Rose?" Mia asked hesitantly as she backed away. The tiger didn't answer, but just advanced towards her.

"Ok, not Rose...um...Tobias?" she guessed, remembering the name of the tiger she'd heard the men talking about. The tiger paused for a moment, then advanced on her again.

"I'll take that as a yes then...ok, um...Tobias look. I'm not really a tiger. I'm a human, who was hit by this energy bolt thing and...and..." Mia's voice trailed off as she saw the look in Tobias' eyes.

It was a look of death.

The men's words came back to haunt her as she continued to back away. _Tobias'll kill her before she even has a chance to defend herself._

"Ok, I'm in a cage, with a mad killer tiger and no way out..." Mia whimpered as she came up against the metal bars. "Help!"

And then Tobias pounced, launching through the air, teeth and claws ready to rip Mia apart. She yelped and darted out of his way, but as soon as he landed, he spun on the spot and came at her again and again. One claw caught her shoulder and she yelped in pain. The crowd cheered. Mia had felt the anger boiling up inside her, threatening to explode, and that claw had been the last straw.

"Right. You want it that way...you got it,"she muttered angrily, flattening herself to the floor, ready to fight. When Tobias came for her again, she was ready and the two launched at each other, scratching, biting, ripping, clawing and tearing. Several times Tobias managed to pin Mia on her back, but she managed to free herself each time by clamping her jaws round his paw, or biting the unprotected part of his neck.

As Tobias pinned Mia against another set of bars, she felt something stroke her fur. She thought nothing of it until she heard a familiar voice.

"She's so soft."

"Jack!" she cried, hoping he could hear her. Tobias was really getting on her nerves now, so she swiped him across the face, her claw narrowly missing his eye. This made him get off and she was able to get back to her feet again. She peered through the bars and saw that Jack and the Doctor were climbing up the slope towards her.

"Jack! Doctor!" she cried in delight, but then Tobias was on her again, and his sharp claws sunk into her back.

She howled in pain and turned, fighting him off, then chasing him back across the arena, away from her friends.

oOo

Down in their cell, the Doctor and Jack had heard the commotion and scrabbled up their own ramp, grabbing the bars to help them stay up on the steep slope. They had watched the two tigers as they fought, viciously slashing at each other. One was their 'neighbour' Tobias. They recognized him because he was bigger and much more vicious than the other, much smaller tiger.

"That's an unfair fight!" Jack had exclaimed as he also noticed the size and weight difference of the two tigers. The smaller one was definately going to lose against the bigger, much older Tobias.

"She's just a youngster," the Doctor had noted as the fight brought the two closer to them. They both ducked and let go of the bars as the younger tiger was thrown on them and pinned again. Jack scrabbled up the ramp and managed to touch her fur through the bars.

"She's so soft," he'd cried in delight. This was the closest he'd ever been to a tiger, and he was loving every second of it, the Doctor could tell. The female had growled and then swiped at Tobias, who yelped in pain and fell off, allowing her to get back to her feet again. She'd peered in through the bars and growled at them, but not in a threatening way.

More like a greeting actually.

Then she'd howled in pain and chased Tobias away to the other end of the arena.

"Did you see that!" Jack cried excitedly as the tigers moved off the bars and he and the Doctor could resume their viewing positions. He was like a five year old at a zoo. "It was like she was saying hi."

The Doctor had noticed it, and he'd also noticed something else too. The tiger's eyes weren't the usual greenish yellow, but rather a deep brown, and they'd got a familiar spark in them.

"That's no tiger," he suddenly realised as the female leapt onto Tobias' back and grabbed the scruff of his neck, forcing him to the floor, much like Mia had once forced Jack to the floor when he'd refused to give her back her i-pod.

"Course it is," Jack replied as though he thought the Doctor was stupid.

"No, Jack. Look. Deep brown eyes, uses the same technique Mia used on you, recognizing us down here...I think it's Mia."

Jack obviously thought he was crazy, but when the female managed to break away from the winded Tobias, and had run back over, peering through the bars at them again, he did begin to wonder.

"Mia?" he asked cautiously and the tiger nodded frantically.

"Bloody hell!"

"Mia, what happened?" the Doctor asked as he and Jack tried to pull themselves closer to her. She'd crouched down by now, but all she could answer with was a growl.

"She can't talk," Jack realised.

"It's alright Mia. Is Rose with you?" the Doctor asked. Mia shook her head.

"Was she with you?"

Mia nodded.

_Now we're getting somewhere, _he thought.

"Mia, is Rose a tiger too?"

Another nod.

"Is she alright."

Mia paused, not knowing how to answer, which the Doctor took as meaning "I don't know."

"Was she when you were with her?"

A definate nod, and the Doctor sighed with relief. Then Jack's eyes flew wide in horror.

"Look out!" he cried, but it was too late.

oOo

Tobias had crept up on her, and was now using her trick against her. She was helplessly forced down into the sand, his razor sharp teeth biting into her neck. She couldn't breath. He was choking her.

The crowd's cheering seemed to be growing louder as over to one side another gate opened and a third tiger bounded out, looking confused and disorientated.

Tobias immediately let Mia go, and she fell to the floor, too badly winded to move. All she could do was call out to the other tiger "Look out!"

oOo

Rose looked around the arena in alarm. There were already two tigers in there, and pools of blood everywhere.

She saw the two tigers, one huge much older tiger, pinning a poor youngster to the ground. When he saw her, however, he let go of his original target and charged at her.

"Look out!" a voice had called, and Rose realised it was the smaller tiger, who was now laying winded in the sand, blood dribbling down her neck.

"Oh no!" Rose cried as she dodged Tobias' thundering charge and ran over to the other tiger. "Are you alright?"

"Rose?"

"Mia? Oh my god, look at you," Rose exclaimed, nuzzling Mia's nose gently.

"Look out," Mia warned, and Rose spun to see Tobias coming back for her again. She ran, as fast as she could, back down to the other end of the arena.

oOo

Tobias seemed to be ignoring Mia now that he had a new 'toy' to play with, and this allowed her to drag herself back over to the Doctor and Jack, who looked appaled at the huge gash on her neck.

"You wanted to know about Rose...see for yourself," Mia gasped and although the Doctor and Jack couldn't understand her, they saw her look somewhere and followed her eyeline towards the new tiger, who was busy dodging Tobias with athletic ease.

"Is that Rose?" Jack asked and Mia nodded.

"Are you hurt badly?" the Doctor asked as a drop of blood dripped into his hand. Mia paused for a moment, then shook her head and began dragging herself back to her feet.

"Can you dig?" he asked and Mia nodded, seeing his plan. She began clawing and scrabbling at the sand around the bars until she hit sandstone, then she frantically clawed at that aswell, but it was no use.

She looked helplessly at the Doctor, who nodded to show that he understood, then Rose and Tobias had joined them, and his two friends were forced to fight the huge tiger together.

Rose seemed to be the divertion, darting back and forth infront of Tobias, whilst Mia gathered up her remaining strength, then leapt onto his back, using the neck lock again. She would have been thrown clear almost immediately if Rose hadn't joined her, and together the two brought Tobias crashing down into the dirt, where he wriggled and growled for a moment, before laying very still.

Neither would let go until they were sure he was dead.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author Note: OMG! I'm so sorry for the delay in posting! My Dad installed some anti-virus thing on our computer and I haven't been able to get on the internet since...well not until now obviously...so blame my dad for that!**

**Anyways, here's the next chapter, and hopefully I should be able to get back to regular posting now...if not, never fear, its probably just my computer mucking up again, but I will finish posting this story if it kills me!**

**So enjoy!**

oOo

"You ready for the fight?" Mia gasped as she let go of the fur and licked her lips. Why was it that blood always tasted like iron?

She coughed up a load of fur in disgust then turned to Rose, who'd just done the same.

"What fight?" Rose asked after a moment.

"Well you want to give the crowd their money's worth, don't you?" Mia said, giving Rose that strange tiger grin. They both looked up at the Emperor's box.

Needless to say, he wasn't very happy that his prize tiger had just been killed, but now he had two tigers who were obviously crowd pleasers. Perhaps he could get his money's worth out of them instead.

"Release the prisoners!" he called and there was the sound of grating as all around the arena, more bars were drawn back and a dozen or so frightened people clawed their way up the ramps and out into the arena. When they saw the two blood soaked tigers, and the dead body of a third, they screamed and began climbing the bars, begging to be set free.

Only the Doctor and Jack seemed calm as they wandered over to the tigers and began stroking them. The crowd gasped when the tigers sat and let the two men stroke them. Some even thought they could hear them purring. The Doctor examined their wounds critically and wished he'd still got his sonic screwdriver, which the guards had confiscated when he'd been caught.

"Get them fighting!" cries rang out from all around the arena and then stones were being hurled in their direction. Mia and Rose bolted away from the stones, but the Doctor and Jack angrily ran right at the nearest guy and grabbed him through the bars. The guy punched Jack, sending him sprawling back into the sand. The Doctor tried to back out of the way, but he was grabbed round the throat by another man. Mia saw this and darted forwards, grasping the man's arm with her teeth, causing him to let go of the Doctor, who staggered back.

There was a cheer from the other prisoners, who all surged towards the door as a guy with a gun ran in, leaving the gate wide open. He levelled the gun at Mia, but was knocked off his feet by Rose.

"The door!" the Doctor yelled and there was a mad dash as guards on the outside, and the captives on the inside all ran for the door. Rose and Mia made it out first and chased the guards away, while Jack led the prisoners to safety and the Doctor ran back down to the cells to collect his things.

oOo

"Rose!" Mia called through the frightened crowd to her friend, who was having far too much fun chasing anything that moved.

"Rose! Leave the nice people alone!" Mia called as Rose dissapeared up some steps, sending a tidal wave of people running down the other way. Mia ignored them and barged through, following Rose.

Those who weren't fleeing the grounds in fright were running back down into the cage, where they reckoned they were safe.

Meanwhile, Rose had found the Emperor in his dignitaries box and was now cornering him. Several people gasped when they saw him trip and fall backwards against the wall.

"Rose, leave him alone!" Mia yelled, but Rose wasn't listening, so Mia gathered up all her strength and leapt into the box, yelping as she landed on her bad paw, which sent pain shooting up to the wounds on her neck. "The Doctor's waiting. Come on!" she continued through gritted teeth, but Rose wasn't listening.

"You almost killed us...for sport!" she growled accusingly at the cowering Emperor.

"He can't understand you," Mia pointed out, her tail flicking impatiently.

"I don't care. I'm going to make him pay for everything he's done today."

"What's got into you?" Mia exclaimed. "This isn't the Rose Tyler I know."

"Well surprisingly enough, I have been changed into a tiger!" Rose snapped back.

"Your looks aren't the only things that have changed," Mia muttered, hoping Rose wouldn't hear. But tigers have excellent hearing, so unfortunately she did.

"Whats that supposed to mean?"

"Well look what you've turned into. You're a killer. You're trying to kill someone because of what he's done to you. That's not what you do, when your a human anyway. You'd leave him for either the Doctor, or someone else to sort out. You'd never kill a human before, so why now?"

"Because I'm a tiger. That's what I do!" Rose replied, before turning her attention back to the Emperor, who'd been trying to shift sideways towards the door of the box, utterly confused as he watched the two tigers growl at each other.

Mia could only see one way to get her friend to listen to her now, but she didn't want to do it. However, when Rose raised a dagger filled paw, Mia darted forwards and bit her sharply on the tail. Rose howled in pain, then spun round completely to face her friend.

"What the hell was that for!" she snarled.

"You wouldn't listen," Mia reasoned, but she knew she'd pushed Rose too far now. Rose raised her paw again, but instead of using it on the Emperor, she attacked Mia instead.

Her attack was so forceful that both tigers fell out of the box, tumbled down two flights of stairs and lay winded for a second at the bottom, amongst a small crowd who'd become trapped. Several screams rose as the two tigers staggered back to their feet and then launched at each other.

They clawed, bit, ripped and growled, each trying to get the deadly neck lock on the other.

oOo

Jack and the Doctor, who'd climbed back into the stands to find out what was taking their companions so long, gasped as they saw that the two were now trying to kill each other, while screaming people desperately tried to get out of the way.

"Well that certainly puts new meaning into the phrase 'Cat Fight'," Jack muttered as he and the Doctor began climbing back down towards their friends.

"What's got into them?" he added.

"Don't you remember what Sergey told us?" the Doctor replied.

Sergey was a prisoner they'd met during their escape, and he'd told them all about the planet's strange and barbaric customs, and the laser ray that had been used on the two girls.

_"We all have an animal inside us, and that ray brings it out, turns us into it. The longer we stay as that animal, the more it will take over our brain until soon we are no longer ourselves, and we think and act just like that animal would. We won't be able to distinguish the difference between friends and predators or prey. _

_Every week, the Emperor sends out his guards to capture anyone they find. Half are allowed to remain as people, the other half are transformed using their rays, given a few hours of freedom to get used to their new body, then captured and brought back here for fighting."_

"So that means that Mia and Rose are becoming more and more 'tigerish' every minute," Jack realised and the Doctor nodded.

"Tigers are solitary animals. They live alone, and hunt alone, until they meet a partner. But two tigers of the same sex will fight to the death to protect their territory...not just the males, like it shows on all these animal documentaries you and Rose watch."

"And Tobias? He was a guy. Why fight a girl?"

"Tobias has been trained to fight, so he'd attack anything that moved."

"Fascinating," Jack exclaimed, earning him a dig in the ribs for stealing the Doctor's favourite word.

"You!" the Doctor called to one guard standing beside them now. He wasn't much older than Rose, and certainly wasn't able to use the huge rifle he was carrying.

"Give me that!" the Doctor called, so the boy threw him the rifle, which the Doctor pointed into the air and let off several times. He hated guns, but this time, it was necessary.

After the thunderous cracks had silenced, a deadly hush fell over the stadium and even Rose and Mia had paused.

"Mia...Rose - whoever's biting the other's neck - let her go," the Doctor sighed in a tone that sounded like he was telling off two children for a playfight that had got out of hand.

Mia obediently let go and Rose sat up again, both looking thoroughly fed up, and very angry.

"Right. Now that I have your undivided attention, I have just one thing to say to you both," he continued. They looked at him, expecting him to tell them off, or shout at them, but all he said was "Run!"

They both grinned and bolted towards the exit together, their fight apparently forgotten.

Jack shook his head in disbelief as he and the Doctor chased after them.

"How is it that one minute their killing each other, the next they're the best of friends again?"

"They're trying to fight against the effects of that laser thingy. All they need is a little reminder of who they really are, and it gives them the strength to ignore it for the time being."

"And how did 'Run!' remind them of who they are?"

"Because that's the first word I said to both of them, when I met them. Rose was being chased by Autons, and Mia was being chased by a snowman."

"A snowman!" Jack exclaimed, then burst out laughing. "Oh I'm never gonna let her forget that!"

"Oh dear," the Doctor chuckled, knowing he'd probably made Mia's life hell, having just given Jack the ammunition he needed to wind her up non stop every time someone mentioned snow (which strangely happened quite alot in the TARDIS). Mind you Mia could easily give as good as she got, so Jack had better be careful.

"So they're Rose and Mia again?" Jack double checked as they saw the two tigers pause at the beginning of the forest Mia had been caught in earlier. He still didn't want to trust two wild tigers until he was sure they were perfectly safe.

"For now, yes. But there's no telling when they'll change again."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author Note: Hey guys. I'm really sorry it's taken me so long to post but I've just been so busy recently. Anyways, because there is only one more chapter left after this, I decided that I might aswell post that at the same time, so that you don't have to wait forever. So there we are, thats the story finished now. I hope you enjoy!**

**Oh and yes, these last chapters are hopefully funny-ish...because there's been so much fighting and action, I thought we needed some fun.**

**So ENJOY! **

**oOo**

"You realise we could say anything we liked about them and they wouldn't know what we were saying," Mia said cheekily as she flopped in the shade of a tree with Rose. Jack had once again got them lost in the jungle while searching for the TARDIS, so in the end they'd left the guys to their argument and found a large patch of shade to keep cool.

Rose thought for a moment, then she said, "If they'd been turned into the animals, instead of us, what do you think they'd have been turned into?"

Mia pondered this as she lay with her head on her paws. She studied the two men, who were arguing over the reliability of Jack's wristwatch against the Doctor's sonic screwdriver.

"Well...the Doctor would be a ferret, because he looks like one, and ferrets can get out of almost any tight spot..." she decided at last and Rose giggled, causing the two men to pause and look at them with raised eyebrows. Then they got back to their argument again.

"And Jack?" Rose asked after her giggles had subsided.

"Jack would be...a goat," Mia replied.

"A goat? Why?"

"Well, no not a goat actually...a jack russell, because his name's Jack, and he yaps like one!"

Rose burst out laughing again, and so did Mia, causing Jack and the Doctor to look at them again.

oOo

"I think they're talking about us," Jack said as he saw Rose and Mia eye him and then roll around on the floor, apparently laughing.

The Doctor seemed to think the same, because he put his sonic screwdriver back in his pocket and walked over to them, clearing his throat. They both sat up and looked at him innocently.

"Oh no you don't! Don't give me that look!" he exclaimed when he saw their looks of wide eyed innocence. "I know you've been talking about me and Jack behind our backs, so you can cut that out now. Got that?" He ran a hand through his long brown hair and looked appologetically at Mia "Oh and I may have accidentaly let slip about that abominable snowman incident to Jack, so just don't mention snow," he added, then grinned at the look of horror on Mia's face.

Mia immediately bared her teeth at him angrily and he backed away a little, unsure if she was Mia, or the tiger again. Then Mia turned to Rose.

"Shall we?"

"God yeah! I'm so bored!" Rose replied, so the two got up and bolted off into the thick jungle, leaving the two guys to wonder where the hell they'de gone.

oOo

In actual fact, Mia and Rose had known all along where the TARDIS was, but seeing as they couldn't tell the others, they had been stuck with them in the middle of the jungle.

Now though, they were free to do as they wished. They'd plunged head first into the freezing water in the lake beside the TARDIS, which was so refreshing after hours in the hot sand and dry climate of the arena. Mia refused to come out until her coat was clean of the blood, which took ages to wash out, and Rose lapped up so much water she got hiccups.

Watching a tiger with hiccups had to be the second weirdest thing Mia had ever seen, after the tiger grin.

After they'd cooled down, cleaned themselves of the blood and sand and shaken the water off, they found a little area of soft grass beside the TARDIS where they curled up and slipped off to sleep, while they waited for the guys to return.

oOo

It took several hours for the Doctor and Jack to finally find their way back, and by that time, Mia and Rose's coats had dried completely and they now glistened and shone in the evening sunlight. They looked so peaceful as they slept. Just like two big tabby cats curled up on their favourite rug.

"Who'd have known that those two were really dangerous," the Doctor sighed as he spotted them. "I mean, I knew Rose was tough, but who'd have thought her inner animal was a tiger!"

"Yeah. I'd never have guessed that about Mia either. A dragon, yeah, but not a tiger."

The Doctor recognized the insult and gave Jack another dig in the ribs. Then he tiptoed past the two sleeping tigers and up to the TARDIS door, unlocking it with his key. He and Jack went inside and started scouting round for anything, absolutely anything that might help them reverse the effects and return both girls to some sort of normality.

"Jackie will kill me and feed me to her daughter if we can't turn Rose back," the Doctor muttered anxiously and Jack laughed. But then he thought about Mia.

Yes, she was beautiful as a tiger, but he definately prefered her as a human. She looked so much better and he could have decent conversations with her.

However, she couldn't tease him and was far more predictable as a tiger, he supposed. And she was far more useful in a fight.

He peered out of the door to see that Rose and Mia had just woken and were now stretching and yawning, displaying their huge fangs and dagger-like claws.

_Definately more useful in a fight, _he decided, as he let out a long low whistle of admiration. Both turned to look at him and he backed into the door to allow them in, then closed it after them and called for the Doctor.

"Fantastic!" the Doctor cried in delight when he saw that his two female companions had joined him again. "Now we can get off this planet!"

"Excuse me! We're not going anywhere until you change us back!" Rose replied and the Doctor jumped.

"Did you just say something?"

"Yeah...why?" Mia and Rose both said together, tilting their heads to one side.

"WE CAN UNDERSTAND YOU!" Jack yelled, jumping round the console room like a five year old again.

"Calm down Jack," Mia said in amusement as he tripped and almost fell over the railings. Then she turned back to the Doctor. "Rose is right. How do you expect us to go anywhere like this?" And then, as an afterthought she turned to Rose, nodded at Jack, who was now busy explaining some grand plan to the Doctor - complete with the yapping and bouncing about - and said "See what I mean?"

"Yeah I do!" Rose giggled. "Although I'm not so sure about a ferret. I think more of a teddy bear."

"Why?" Mia asked.

"Well, teddy bears are cute and cuddly."

"What's this about teddybears and ferrets?" Jack asked, bounding back over to them and stroking Mia's head. He was like a five year old at Christmas who didn't know which toy to play with first.

"Get off!" she groaned, ducking out of his reach. Rose ducked out of his way aswell.

"Shall we tell him?" she asked teasingly but Mia shook her head.

"No way. Remember what the Doctor accidentally let slip? We'll only tell them if he really gets on my nerves," Mia replied quietly. Jack didn't hear her response, but Rose did and giggled again.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad!"

"You weren't the one being chased by a snowman!" Mia hissed.

"No, but I bet the Doctor hasn't told you what I_ was _being chased by."

"Yeah, Autons."

"_Shop dummy_ Autons!" Rose corrected. Mia stared at her friend in disbelief for a moment, then fell about giggling hysterically.

"Did I miss something?" Jack asked in confusion. When he got no reply, he bounced back over to the Doctor, who was busy trying to do something to an apple with his sonic screwdriver.


	7. Chapter 7

An hour later, Rose and Mia were curled up infront of the TV in the living area of the TARDIS, watching a documentary on killer whales, while the Doctor and Jack had given up trying to use the apple as a battery and were now using bamboo canes to try and make some sort of framework. What that had to do with turning Mia and Rose back to humans, they had no idea, but they liked building it, and they had no better ideas.

Mia sighed and stretched, giving a slight whimper as her wounds hurt again. Rose stood and examined them critically.

"That one on your neck's really bad...and so's that one on your shoulder...oh and that bite on your paw that I gave you isn't looking too good either."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Mia grumbled. Then she saw the hurt look in Rose's eye and sighed.

"I'm sorry. Come here," she offered and placed her neck over Rose's in a tiger hug. "And I didn't mean to hurt you either."

"I'm sorry for hurting you too," Rose appologised as she nudged her friend in return. Then they both layed back down together, Mia's head resting on Rose's back, while Rose's paw swatted playfully at Mia's tail.

"You realise if Jack saw us now, he'd get the wrong idea," Rose grinned.

"That guy has a one track mind that sticks firmly in the gutter," Mia replied. Then she said, completely randomly, "I still reckon he's a jack russell, though."

Rose laughed so hard the whole TARDIS could hear.

Jack stuck his head round the door and Mia couldn't help but say "Speak of the Doggy - I mean Devil," which had them both giggling hysterically.

"You know what I fancy?" Rose added. "Some nice tree _bark."_

And they were giggling again. Jack ran back to the Doctor as fast as he could.

"You've got to turn them back now, they're going insane!"

oOo

"I'm bored," Mia and Rose moaned simultaneously as they wandered back into the control room later. Being a tiger may have its advantages, but it certainly had its disadvantages aswell.

Neither of them could change the channel on the TV, they couldn't play hide and seek because there weren't any suitable places to hide a bengal tiger, they couldn't read a book because their claws kept ripping the pages, they couldn't play football in the garden of the TARDIS because Rose had accidentally burst the ball, they couldn't play any board games or card games, and they couldn't help the Doctor and Jack either.

The guys had managed to find a stray blaster that one of the guards had dropped in the struggle yesterday, and were now trying to reverse the effects, but without luck.

"We're going for a walk," Mia announced after a moment, but all she got in response was "uh-huh," so she shrugged and Rose followed her out of the TARDIS and back over to the stream.

It was evening now and they climbed up onto some high rocks by the side of the waterfall to watch the sun set over the trees.

"It is beautiful here," Rose sighed.

"Yeah, but the locals aren't exactly friendly," Mia replied, licking at her wounded paw. She suddenly realised what she was doing and stopped quickly.

"Hey, when the guys work out how that gun works and we get changed back...wanna see what animal they turn into?" Rose asked suddenly, her eyes lighting up.

"Alright," Mia grinned cheekily. "£10 says Jack's a jack russell."

"Deal. And £10 says the Doctor's a teddy bear."

"You're on."

"But what happens if we're both right?"

"Then we get to see a jack russell chase a teddy bear round the TARDIS," Mia laughed.

They both raised a paw and held them up to each other in a kind of high five, then they heard the Doctor calling for them.

"They fixed it!" Rose squeeled in excitement as they both leapt down the rocks and charged past the Doctor into the TARDIS, ignoring his calls of "If you get mud in my ship, there'll be trouble!"

oOo

Half an hour later, Rose and Mia were sitting on the Doctor's chair in the control room, and Rose was fishing in her pockets for £10.

The Doctor had changed them back into humans again and dressed their wounds (or rather used one of his nifty gadgets to heal them completely), and Rose had sweet talked him into letting her and Mia look at the gun. When his back was turned, they'd reversed it again and shot him and Jack.

Now they were watching in amusement as a jack russell was being chased round the console by a grizzly bear.

"I was half right," Rose reasoned as she handed over the £10.

"I know. That's why you only pay me half of what you bet," Mia replied, handing back £5. Then she looked at their two companions.

"No! Bad Doctor! Put him down!" she cried as Jack yapped and barked, and his little stumpy legs waved frantically in mid air. The Doctor promptly dropped him and began chasing him round the console again.

"Please tell me we weren't that bad!" Rose groaned. Then she turned to Jack. "No Jack! Don't you dare! You go outside if you need to pee!"

THE END


End file.
